Apple apps

LOS ANGELES — Snap, Inc., the parent company of the Snapchat app, had a rough first year on Wall Street. Consumers couldn't have cared less. The Bitmoji app, owned by Snap, came in at No. 1 on Apple's annual list of the most downloaded free iTunes apps of the year, followed by Snapchat in second place. Last year, Snapchat was the top app of the year, and Bitmoji, which can be used to create avatars that slip into Snaps and e-mails, wasn't in the top 10. As with years past, consumers mostly gravitated towards familiar favorites.The rest of the top 10 include:—3. YouTube (up from No. 6 in 2016). Video viewing. —4.Facebook Messenger (No. 2 last year). Chat.—5. Instagram (5th place, like in 2016). Photo sharing.—6. Facebook (No. 6 again). Social network.—7. Google Maps (No. 7 again). Navigation.—8. Netflix, (up from No. 9). Video viewing. —9. Spotify (up from No. 10). Music streaming. —10. Uber, which … [Read more...] about These were the most downloaded Apple apps of 2017

The biggest battle in the comic book world this week didn’t involve men in spandex. It surrounds a pair of relatively small graphic images featuring men decidedly out of costume. The latest issue of “Saga” — which hit comic book stores Wednesday but not the app on Apple products that usually showcases the series — temporarily banned over two panels depicting graphic images of homosexual sex. Less than 24 hours after news of the ban broke and ignited outrage in the industry — “Everything we put into the book is there to advance our story, not (just) to shock or titillate, so we're not changing sh--,’ “Saga” writer Brian K. Vaughan said in a statement Tuesday — the company behind the app issued an apology and a reversal of he ban. “As a partner of Apple, we have an obligation to respect its policies for apps and the books offered in apps,” Comixology CEO David … [Read more...] about ‘Saga’ comic book issue temporarily banned from Apple app over ‘postage stamp-sized’ graphic gay sex images

LOS ANGELES — Millions of people turned Pokémon Go into a hit last year, tapping the app that morphed animation into the physical world.That was quite the curtain raiser for augmented reality. Now, in what will be AR's biggest mass market push to date, Apple has thousands of apps—some say as many as 10,000—ready to unleash in just a few weeks, with the launch of the new iPhone and the update to the iOS mobile operating system.In June, Apple introduced software to make AR apps, called ARKit, giving developers several months to work on concepts. Apple’s entrance into AR will “make it the major leader in AR almost overnight,” says Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies.While we won't see the new apps until the release of iOS 11, which comes at the end of the month, many developers have already started sneak-peeking their apps on YouTube and Twitter.Some of the offerings include: —An IKEA app that lets you … [Read more...] about Get ready for thousands of augmented reality Apple apps

A crafty NYU grad student created a killer iPhone app that sends an alert every time a U.S. drone strike kills a terrorist - but Apple nuked it. Josh Begley's Drone+ app used media reports to track drone casualties and even featured a handy Google map pinpointing the sites where American Hellfire missiles found their targets. Apple rejected the app on Monday - for the third time this summer - saying it contained “objectionable” content, Wired reported. "We found that your app contains content that many audiences would find objectionable, which is not in compliance with the App Store guidelines," the company said in an email to Begley. In an earlier letter, Apple said the drone-tracking app was rejected because it was too boring. Begley said he was a little miffed at the decision, since the app doesn't publish pictures of the strikes' fiery aftermaths. "I can't say I was surprised. But I do think it's notable that an app which simply republishes news can … [Read more...] about Apple App Store rejects grad student’s app that alerts of deadly U.S. drone strikes

If only Tiger Woods had practiced safe text. Well, now there's an app for that. The new iPhone application TigerText (free) deletes text messages automatically (users can select a deletion period from one to 30 days), so prying eyes (and wives) will never again stumble upon an incriminating emoticon. But that's not the only app that New Yorkers find useful on a daily basis. TAXI HOLD'EM - Free New Yorkers need whatever edge they can get to hail a cab. With this app, simply tilt the iPhone horizontally, and it flashes a classic yellow and black checkered "TAXI" sign sure to grab any hack's attention, especially at night. If you still can't get a cab, simply tap the screen, and the phone lets loose a saucy whistle. ESCAPE CALL - Free New York can be a hellish place to date, but Escape Call has your back. The app allows you to select anyone in your contact list - we suggest your boss or your mom and then is programmed to call you in the middle of a first date, a bad meeting or … [Read more...] about Big Apple app-etite: The best iPhone applications for New Yorkers

Apple's App Store for moblile device applications, a popular destination for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch owners, has reached its billionth download.Apple announced the news on its Web site Wednesday night, after holding a countdown for the past two weeks. The milestone comes just nine months after the App Store first launched.Customer number one billion, whose name hasn't been announced, will win a prize package of Apple goodies including $10,000 in iTunes credit, a 17-inch MacBook Pro, a 32GB iPod touch and an Apple Time Capsule wireless backup device. More than 37 million devices are running Apple's mobile operating system, PC World reported. That includes over 21 million iPhones and 15 million iPod touches. The "apps" available to customers range from useful to silly. Some of the popular ones include Shazam, which identifies songs while they're playing, Urban Spoon, a restaurant locator, and iFart, which, well, makes farting noises. Apple came under fire earlier this week … [Read more...] about Days after ‘Baby Shaker’ controversy, Apple’s App Store reaches one billion downloads

LOS ANGELES — If you have an old iPhone 5 model you've been using for several years, now it's time to upgrade. Apple's new mobile operating system update, iOS11, will be released later this month, and it includes new features that won't work with some older iPhones. The cutoff is the iPhone 5, the phone that was first introduced in 2012 and pulled off the market 12 months later, and the 5C, released in 2013.Any phone afterward — iPhone 5S, 6, 6S, 7 and SE — can run the latest operating system. But the very niftiest features, particularly the augmented reality apps that will bring Pokémon Go-type digital overlays onto your physical world — will only work with later model phones. More: 11 changes coming to iPhone with Apple's iOS 11 More: Get ready for thousands of augmented reality Apple apps If you're hanging on to an original iPhone 5, here are some of the new operating system … [Read more...] about Own an iPhone 5? It’s time to retire it if you want the latest iOS 11 apps

NEW YORK — At its most basic level, Google Allo is similar to the many mobile chat apps that let you schmooze with friends through a combination of texts, pictures, emojis and fancy stickers.But the piping hot messaging space is fertile ground for bots and artificial intelligence, and Allo, which Google starts rolling out to the Google Play Store and Apple App Store Wednesday, represents the coming out party for the AI-driven Google Assistant that was announced in May at the Google I/O confab.Google is facing stiff competition in this space, and it's not clear it will be able to persuade enough users to leave the the most world's most popular messaging apps — Facebook Messenger and Facebook's WhatsApp — Apple's rival Messages app, or even its own Google Hangouts to try yet another messaging app.AI stands to differentiate these. Here, Google's Allo is also vying with Messenger's bot platform that taps fields … [Read more...] about Google releases its AI-infused messaging app Allo

SAN FRANCISCO — Uber placed a digital wall around Apple's headquarters in an effort to hide the fact it was breaking Apple rules by marking iPhones with persistent digital ID tags that would remain after users had deleted the Uber app and wiped the phone, the New York Times reported Sunday.The actions — first, digital fingerprinting users' devices and then, geofencing Apple's headquarters to veil the company's actions — earned Uber CEO Travis Kalanick an in-person rebuke from Apple CEO Tim Cook, who threatened to kick Uber out of the powerful Apple App store.Asked for comment, Uber said that it does not track individual users or their location if they have deleted the Uber app. It said that the persistent ID tags protected against driver fraud and allowed it to keep fraudsters from loading the Uber app onto a stolen phone, putting in a stolen credit card, taking an expensive ride and then wiping the phone again and again.The company did not respond to … [Read more...] about Uber’s Kalanick got caught for tricking Apple, risking expulsion from Apple Store, report says

Are you feeling lonely? There's an app for that. If you're ever bored and alone there are plenty of bizarre apps available online that will entertain you to a certain extent. If you're just lonely these apps will also offer some comfort, or so according to their descriptions. Hundreds of apps like Pocket Boyfriend and Back Talk — which have avatars talking back to you — have been launched by developers over the years, and even though they are just silly apps that make no sense, they manage to stay on the market. These next 9 apps may seem hokey, but they do exist and have been downloaded by many users on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. HUG! // Free // iOS This app allows users to send hugs to friends and family. Now you're probably wondering, "How can a phone hug me?" Well, it doesn't. Your phone will simply vibrate when you place it on your chest to simulate the heartbeat of another person when they hug you. The idea of the app is pretty corny, but … [Read more...] about 10 apps to use when you’re feeling bored and lonely